ANDREW NIBLEY NAMED PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF GETMUSIC ONLINE MUSIC VENTURE

NEW YORK, NY, AUGUST 30, 1999 - Andrew Nibley, the Reuters veteran who successfully managed the news and information organization's emergence as a major force on the Internet, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of GetMusic, the joint venture between BMG Entertainment and Universal Music Group to promote artists and sell their music online.

Nibley, who begins work on October 1, will be responsible for overseeing and managing all operations at GetMusic, which promotes BMG and Universal artists at a host of genre-based Web sites, like peeps.com, bugjuice.com, twangthis.com, connect2music.com and rockuniverse.com. The genre sites are linked to the e-commerce site getmusic.com, which sells some 250,000 titles from artists throughout the industry. Universal and BMG now have a combined current album share of nearly 50 percent of the U.S. market.

Nibley, who co-founded Reuters NewMedia Inc. in 1994 and has been its President since 1998, was instrumental in making Reuters an Internet powerhouse through a series of agreements with, and in some cases investments in, a range of Web-related heavyweights, including Yahoo, America Online, Microsoft, Infoseek, Excite and Lycos, among others. Long-term agreements provided for Reuters to be the real-time news provider for over 225 Web sites globally, and helped build the Reuters brand through the Internet.

"Andy is an Internet insider with the leadership skills, technical savvy and strategic insights necessary to make GetMusic the premier music destination on the Web," said Edgar Bronfman, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of The Seagram Company Ltd. "He understands the unique opportunities that the Web creates for artists to bring their music to consumers in the most convenient way possible."

Said Michael Dornemann, Chairman of BMG Entertainment: "Andy Nibley's understanding of the Internet and familiarity with the importance of content in driving traffic to sites, makes him the ideal choice to manage GetMusic going forward."

Added Strauss Zelnick, President and Chief Executive Officer, BMG Entertainment: "We are committed to expanding the number of genre sites and artists that are part of GetMusic, and creating compelling international sites as well. Andy's knowledge and leadership ability ensures that GetMusic will be the single best music-based online business in the future."

Said Doug Morris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Universal Music Group: "Andy is one of the rare seasoned executives who has created and operated a successful online venture. The Internet offers incredible opportunities for the music business and I am excited that Andy will be leading GetMusic."

Added Nibley: "Music and the Internet were made for each other, and bringing artists and their fans closer together online has been one of the biggest stories of the year. Reuters is a brilliant company which gave me two decades worth of opportunity, challenge and recognition, and for that I am immensely grateful. But the chance to establish GetMusic as a premier entertainment and e-commerce business was too good to pass up. Having helped to build Reuters into a profitable presence on the Internet, I look forward to moving on to the entrepreneurial challenge of working to make GetMusic a commercial success in another very competitive online environment."

In addition to being President of Reuters NewMedia Inc., Nibley has also served as President of Reuters Television America Inc. and Executive Vice President of Reuters America Holdings, Inc. He also sits on the Boards of Directors of Sportsline USA, Inc. and iMediation S.A.

After serving as News Editor, Europe and Editor, America for Reuters, Nibley was named Senior Vice President of News and Television for Reuters America in 1989. He was named Executive Vice President of Reuters New Media Inc. in 1994.

Prior to joining Reuters, Nibley also served as bureau chief and reporter for a number of bureaus at United Press International.